Net reaction: CO2 + H2O + CO3 to 2HCO3 (weak base)

3

Normal pH of the ocean

8.5

4

Ozone

O2 has a double bond (2 oxygens sharing 4 electrons), making it very stable because it requires lots of energy to break double bonds (495 KJ/mol), therefore, a photon must have at least 8.2 x 10^-19 J to break apart O2

5

Chlorofluorocarbons

Invented by Thomas Midgley in 1930s, they are not flammable, non-toxic, not soluble in water, stable, and replaced ammonia in refrigerators. Then, in 1970s Rowland and Molina studied the impact of CFCs in the atmosphere and won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1995 for discovering that CFCs were causing ozone depletion by releasing large amounts of Cl to the stratosphere.

1) Combustion of fossil fuels2) Deforestation/changes in land use (agriculture/development)

2 sides of climate change

Ocean acidification: concerns for ocean life

1) Supersaturation is essential for calcifying organisms to produce skeletons/shells2) Acidosis (increased carbonic acid in body fluids causing lower blood pH) in fish3) Coral reefs are eroded and bleeched4) Squids use swimming to supply oxygen to their blood, which is impaired by lower blood pH

14

Ocean acidification: Canadian research results

1) Atlantic pH has decreased2) Pacific is already undersaturated3) Arctic uptake of CO2 is accelerated in cold water and rapid sea ice melt, making the Arctic particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification